


First Date

by iolanthe_rosa



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-25
Updated: 2003-08-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:34:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iolanthe_rosa/pseuds/iolanthe_rosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elijah goes on his first date. Twice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Date

Elijah needed to go on a date. With a girl. It was one of the things had promised himself he would do in New Zealand: get a girlfriend. He was 18, for Christ’s sake. Of course, he had been out with girls. Sometimes he would attend a premiere with a co-star, or go for dinner with a group that included a girl or two at the end of a day of filming. But those weren’t “real” dates, with girls he had chosen all by himself.

He had a concept of what it would be like: a pretty girl, laughter, a nice dinner, wine, maybe a movie. Comfortable, but with that sparkling glittery thing in the air between them, that shimmering potential that this might be “the” girl, that maybe there could be something more.

He swallowed as he considered this concept. What was that “more?” A relationship, he supposed. But what was a relationship, really? Flowers and one-month anniversaries and picnics, right? And sex. Sex with a girl. It was like trying to look at the sun – he could only just kind of glimpse it out of the corner of his eye.

As soon as he arrived in New Zealand, he started his girlfriend watch: waitresses, production assistants, shop girls, they all fell under his shy scrutiny. That one was too pretty: she would think he was a geek. That one was too tall: he would look like a geek when he was with her. That one was, well, let’s face it: just too much woman. He liked that one, but she was too nervous around him because he was an American movie actor. And that one was too friendly toward him because he was an American movie actor.

He liked to eat breakfast at Eva Dixon’s Place in Wellington. There was a waitress there named Dawn, and he thought that was neat. Dawn at breakfast. Breakfast at dawn. He had even joked with her about it once, and she had laughed encouragingly, even though it was a dumb joke and she had probably heard it before. She was pretty: blond, petite. He liked her accent, too. She had been raised in England and he liked English accents. She did not seem intimidated by him or, for that matter, particularly attracted to him. But that was o.k. There would be less pressure, actually, if she was not attracted to him. He wanted to start slow.

“What do you think, Dom, should I do it? Should I ask her out?” Filming had finally started after weeks of rehearsals and hobbit bonding. Elijah and Dom were standing idly in the hot sun by a cornfield, waiting for their call.

“Yeah, sure. Why not? What’s the big deal?” The pollen was giving Dom allergies and he was irritable. Why was Elijah asking him anyway? Elijah knew full well he was the wrong person to come to for advice about girls.

“Well, I haven’t done a lot of dating. I’m just not sure.” Elijah looked into Dom’s eyes. Then he suddenly stared down at his big hobbit feet.

Dom had an insight. “Exactly how much dating is ‘not a lot of dating?’” he asked.

A long silence.

“Wait. You’ve never been on a date?”

More silence. Dom didn’t know whether to hug him or laugh at him. He knew Elijah was inexperienced, but he assumed he had at least been out a few times. He was a big star, after all. And bloody gorgeous at that. Weren’t the girls queuing up just for the hope of a chance to shag him? If he was a girl, he’d definitely be doing some damage getting himself to the head of that queue.

“You’re full of surprises,” Dom said.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve had much of a chance,” Elijah shot back defensively. “Home schooling, mom on set all the time.” He bit his lip. “And I’m short and funny looking.”

Dom’s stared at Elijah in blank surprise. Stared at his eyes, indigo in the golden New Zealand sun; at his luminous skin, pale, but with that rose-petal flush of vitality just beneath the surface; the straight, fine line of his nose like some perfect Renaissance sculpture. His lips. His lips. For the one-hundredth time since they had met, Dom felt himself falling into all that beauty. He needed to come back, come back and help Elijah with his dating problem. Oh God, being Elijah’s friend was the hardest thing he had ever done. He reached for his life-line, his sense of humor:

“And what’s wrong with short and funny looking?” he asked archly, tossing his blond Merry curls.

Elijah laughed, “I suppose we’d all be out of a job if we looked like Orly, huh?”

“Yeah. Besides, you’re not so bad looking, Elijah. Really.” Dom congratulated himself on keeping it cool and understated. “Everyone has to have a first date, Elijah. Now’s your time. Go for it. Have a ball. I want to hear all about it afterwards.”

 

******

 

“So, where do you want to go to eat?” Elijah asked. “Do you have a favorite place?”

Dawn considered for a moment, then brightened. “Do you like Indian food? Would you like a curry? I know a good place for that.”

A curry. Elijah remembered the first time he had heard that usage from Dom. An American would just say “Would you like curry,” not “’a’ curry.” That “a” made it sound like something you could pick up and hold, like a hot dog or a hamburger. But you couldn’t pick up curry, could you? It would be like picking up “a stew” or “a soup.” Would she think he was too nerdy if he talked about that? Maybe she would think he was making fun of her. No, best to leave that one alone.

He cursed his stupid mind for going a mile a minute as usual and giving him weird random thoughts that no one else would understand. Well, Dom would understand. They had talked about the curry thing. Now in the morning on set, Dom would say, “Hey, Elijah, you want an oatmeal? Or maybe a toast?” and Elijah would answer, “No, I think I’ll have egg.” Elijah smiled. Then he remembered he was on a date with Dawn.

“Yeah, sounds great. Let’s go!”

They walked side by side the few blocks to the restaurant. To Elijah’s amusement, he found himself talking about the weather, but it was as good a place as any to start. And it worked. By the time they arrived, they had established basic communication. Dawn was friendly and easy to talk to. It wasn’t her first date, he could tell that much. That made it worse in a way. He hated the feeling of being the only one who didn’t know what he was doing, of competing with the probably dozens of guys she had dated before, of not knowing where it was all heading.

The lengthy menu provided further opportunity for conversation. Dawn was a vegetarian. Okay, good. They could talk about that. Had it been a health-related or an ethical decision? Oh, both. Cool. He decided he would order vegetarian, too, so they could share their dishes. Wine? Yes. Great. That was a relief, actually, because his vision of a date had always involved wine. Now he realized why. He really needed a drink.

Of course, back home he was not even legal yet, but he did a passable job of ordering the wine as if he knew what he was doing. White wine with curry, right? Well, whatever.

Then, just as they were almost ready to order, something on the menu caught Elijah’s eye: pappadams. Immediately, his mind set to work. Pappadams. Sounds like Papa Dom’s. He never could keep up with Dom and Billy, with their quick wit and their clever ability at wordplay. But this word was promising. There must be a joke in there somewhere that he could use to make Dom laugh. He lived to make Dom laugh. Usually if Dom laughed, it was only because Elijah was the world’s worst joke-teller. But Elijah felt confident that one day he would actually come up with something really clever. His mind started whirring, looking for the right pappadam joke.

“Elijah?”

Elijah looked up. Uh oh. How long had he been gone? Shit. Now what should he do? His mother’s words came to him, “Honesty is the best policy, Elijah dear.”

“Sorry,” he blushed, “I was just thinking about a friend.”

To his relief, it worked. His admission provided the perfect segue for a discussion about the friends he had made on set. She was naturally interested in his work, and it turned out she had some stories of her own to tell about Elijah’s cast-mates whom she had waited on. Better yet, she had some wild stories to tell about the cast of “Xena the Barbarian,” who had also frequented her restaurant.

This line of discussion carried them pleasantly through the whole meal. Elijah was telling Dawn about how Hannah had dressed as Xena for Hallowe’en when she was 10, and how hilarious she had looked, all 4’6” of her.

“You remind me of her, actually,” Elijah grinned.

The smile froze on his face. He had just told his date that she reminded him of his sister. That couldn’t be good.

Dawn returned his smile. Several hundred hours passed. “To tell you the truth, you remind me of my brother,” she said.

Game over.

 

******

 

Well, it could have been a lot worse, Elijah told himself. It had been pleasant and friendly from beginning to end. He had not made a total fool of himself. If Dawn was going to gossip to her friends, she would be hard-pressed to find anything really embarrassing to say. Good thing he hadn’t told her about the pappadam thing. Heh. Papa Dom.

Dom.

Dom had said he wanted to hear all about his first date. It was not very late, so Elijah called him.

“Dom! I did it!”

“Hey, Elijah,” Dom sounded subdued. Maybe Dom’s allergies were still bothering him; maybe he shouldn’t have called. But then Dom perked up. “Wait a minute. Your date is over already? But it’s only 9:00. Did something happen?”

“Well, it was fine, but the chemistry wasn’t really there,” Elijah said. “So we made an early night of it.”

“Do you want to come over?” Dom asked. Elijah must have misinterpreted Dom’s mood, because he sounded like his old happy self now.

“Sure. That’d be great. I’ll be right there.”

 

******

 

When he got to Dom’s apartment, he was watching an old black and white movie. Dom patted the sofa cushion next to him, inviting Elijah to sit down. As Elijah sat, Dom shoved a beer in his hand.

“You’ve gotta watch this: ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space.’ Some people think it’s the world’s worst movie. It’s fucking hilarious.”

They watched it together, Elijah’s giggles exploding into snorts as Dom provided his own equally hilarious commentary.

“Jesus, Dom, you’re like my own personal ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000!” Elijah said appreciatively. It was so nice not to have to concentrate every minute on not embarrassing himself. Sitting there on the sofa companionably with Dom, it occurred to Elijah that this was the first time they had ever been together, just the two of them, without any of the other hobbits or members of the cast or crew around. It was nice. Comfortable.

After the movie ended, they had a lively discussion about the world’s worst movies. Dom was as much of a movie geek as he was, and they had soon compiled a long list of amusingly bad movies. Elijah was secretly relieved that Dom had not mentioned “North.” Come to think of it, both he and Sean had been in their share of dog movies. Maybe it would be a good idea to change the subject. As if reading his mind, Dom got up and put on a CD.

“What’s this?” Elijah asked.

“’Mermaid Avenue.’ Do you know it?”

Elijah frowned a bit, thumbing through his vast mental index of music and musicians. “Wilco, right?”

“Wilco and Billy Bragg. They got all these lyrics by Woody Guthrie and put them to music. It’s very cool.”

“Wilco is alt-country -- I don’t usually go for that. Who’s Billy Bragg again?”

“He’s a Cockney Communist folk singer,” Dom said, smiling.

That brought Elijah up short. Could it be there was someone out there who knew more obscure musicians than he did? “I don’t really go for folk music that much either,” he said.

“Elijah, you gotta get past these labels: ‘alt-country,’ ‘folk music.’ Who gives a shit? If it’s good music, it’s good music. Listen to this.”

The sinuous rhythms of “Airline to Heaven” filled the room. Elijah had to admit it was good stuff.

No one had ever challenged him before on his musical taste and knowledge. That was one area where he considered himself unassailable. He felt a little embarrassed. It seemed like every day since he arrived in New Zealand, he was learning how much more there was to know. He always thought the older he got, the less there would be to learn. But it was just the opposite.

“You know so much more about stuff than I do, Dom.” Shit. Why did this always happen when he was with Dom? The things in his mind, the thoughts he knew he should keep there safe in his head, just came right out of his mouth.

“Me?” Dom said, eyebrows raised. “I’m not the movie star. You’ve done a lot more than I have.”

“No, all I know is movie star stuff. That’s nothing, believe me. Like living in a cage. I want to know, you know, life stuff like you do.”

“And what’s so interesting about my life?”

Elijah thought for a minute. “Well, you’ve had real jobs not just acting jobs, you’ve been to regular school, been on a soccer – sorry, I mean “football” – team, you’ve traveled all over, gone camping with your dad and your brother, you have lots of friends. You’ve had --” pause, pause, swallow “--relationships.” Shit shit shit. Just shut up, Wood! Elijah silently reprimanded himself.

As Dom listened to Elijah’s speech, he felt like crying for him. His life was fascinating to Elijah only because of its sheer ordinariness.

“Elijah, that’s not an interesting life. That’s just…life.”

Elijah looked at his hands, at the familiar sight of his bitten-down nails. He suppressed the urge to put a finger in his mouth. Instead he sighed, and still staring at his hands, he spoke.

“Then I want life.”

Dom felt a sudden flash of anger towards whoever was responsible for this emptiness in Elijah. His mother? His father? He knew Elijah adored his mother, and she had certainly raised an exceptional son, but she had done something wrong, too. He was not a whole person. He made a vow right then. If Elijah wanted life, he would make sure he had it.

He stood up and skipped the CD to the last track, “Someday, Some Morning, Sometime.”

“Let’s dance.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re going to be dating, then you need to learn to dance. Come on. I love this song. It’s good for slow dancing.” Dom started moving. He was too short to be described as lithe, but there was something graceful about him as he swayed quietly on the floor, arms bent, hands softly fisted and raised on either side of his long neck, eyes half closed.

Someday, some morning, sometime, sometime  
I'd like to hold your hand in mine,  
Someday, some morning, sometime.

Elijah admired Dom’s lack of self-consciousness. He was always embarrassed to dance, even now when it was just the two of them, but he stood up and faced Dom, and started moving, just a little.

I'd like to tell you you're pretty and fine,  
Your face will smile and your eyes will shine  
Someday, some morning, sometime.

“Move with the beat, Elijah,” Dom said quietly. Elijah brought his arms up like Dom’s and started swaying.

I'll build you a house all covered in vines,  
I'll bring you a nickel, I'll bring you a dime,  
Someday, some morning, sometime.

Elijah focused on moving the top half of his body separately from the bottom half, like Dom was doing. He felt a little dizzy. “I feel like I’m falling.”

“That’s good,” Dom said.

Five, six, seven, and eight, oh nine,  
I'll take you down where the birds fly by  
Someday, some morning, sometime.

Elijah watched Dom’s serious eyes, admiring the contradiction of their dark brightness. For a moment, something hung suspended in the air between them, something sparkling and glittery. It shimmered there, fading as the music faded, then disappeared when the song ended. They stopped, staring at each other, nothing between them now but silence.

“I’ve gotta go,” Elijah said. “Early call.”

“Okay.”

 

*******

 

Elijah opened the door to his house. The living room was messy and dark and smelled like stale cigarette smoke. He had been on his own for a few months now, but he still felt the same thrill every time he entered his house. His house. His space.

His mind was full of the evening’s events. His date had not been a complete disaster! He was proud of himself for having done it, but his pride was overshadowed by the feeling of relief that it was over. The next one would be easier, he assured himself.

His heart sank when he thought about the idea of the “next one” (and the next one and the next one.) He reminded himself that it was good for him, that it was something he had always wanted to do, and now he had done it. Now, why was it again he had thought it was so important? He couldn’t remember. What was he trying to prove? Oh yeah, that there was nothing wrong with him. That he was normal. But why hadn’t he thought he was normal? And what was normal anyway? Was anyone normal?

Stop thinking so much. Stupid brain. Call Mom.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, Monkey! How are you?”

“Great! I went on a date!” He was always pleased when he had something to tell his mother that he knew would make her happy.

“That is great, honey!” Deborah was thrilled. This was just what she had hoped would happen when Elijah was on his own in New Zealand. That he would spread his wings a bit. “What did you do?”

Before he knew what he was saying, he answered: “Watched a movie – it was one of those movies that was so bad it was funny – listened to music, danced a little –” Aghast, he stopped himself. Wait a minute! What the fuck?

“Eli? You there?”

Elijah recovered as quickly as he could. “Yeah, you know. The usual. Date stuff.”

“Well, I’m happy for you. She’s a lucky girl.”

“Yeah. Uh huh. Lucky. Girl.”

Deborah sighed. Another strange phone call from Elijah. He used to confide in her more. Well, she guessed it was all part of his growing independence. She needed to respect that. He needed his privacy now that he had things to be private about.

They exchanged pleasantries for a while. Finally, Elijah hung up the phone. He went into his bedroom, undressed, and sank down on the edge of the bed, resting his head in his hands. He suddenly felt so tired; beyond tired. Weary, Sir Ian would say. Okay, so Dawn wasn’t the one. He would date another girl. There were a lot of girls in Wellington.

Then he thought about dancing with Dom.

He knew there wasn’t a girl in the whole fucking universe who could compete with that.


End file.
